Makeover
by Bookworm810
Summary: Tired of feeling like she is always being compared to Kikyo, Kagome decides it is time to do something about it.
1. Prologue The Plan

**DISCLAIMER: 'Inuyasha' belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, and not me. I do not own the characters either. In short, the only thing in this story that is mine is the plot. Do we all understand now? Good, on with the story.**

**PROLOGUE – THE PLAN**

Cautiously, Kagome peeked her head out of the Bone-Eater's Well and looked around. Not seeing any silver-haired Hanyou, pint-sized Kitsunes, lecherous monks or Youkai slayers around, Kagome breathed a sigh of relief and pulled herself the rest of the way out. She knew she was being stupid, but she was grateful for every second of reprieve she had from seeing her Feudal Era friends right now, so she could better prepare herself for their reactions when they saw her.

'_Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.'_ Kagome thought as she reflected back on the decision she had made a week ago, after returning to her time following another fight with Inuyasha.

_ONE WEEK EARLIER_

Kagome walked to school with her head held high like a girl on a mission, which she was. For once she wasn't going to school because she was concerned about her grades or anything like that. No, she was heading to school because it was there she knew she could find the prefect allies she needed for the plan she had worked out in her head last night.

Kagome had returned home yesterday after a rather bad fight with Inuyasha, much worse than any other fight she had had with him in a long time. He had hone to see Kikyo again, and then tried to hide it from her. Kagome didn't know what it was about this peculiar time that got to her so much, but she found she just couldn't take it anymore and had screamed at the Hanyou until her throat was raw, accusing him of wanting Kikyo and not caring about her at all. She had ended up sitting him so many times that even Shippo had winched, before telling him she was going home and that she didn't want to see him for at least a week for he'd wish she'd never freed him from his seal.

Kagome's overwhelming anger at Inuyasha had dimmed as the night rolled by, only to be replaced by overwhelming sadness by time for dinner. She was miserable, once again letting herself believe that Inuyasha would always see her as Kikyo and never just as Kagome. She'd kept thinking that way, despairing her fate and just about reading to give up until she was getting reading for a bath, when it occurred to her what she was doing. She was giving up, letting Kikyo win, just as she always had. Why the hell was she doing that? She had always been willing to fight for those things in life she wanted, so why was she so damn willing to give up on the one thing she wanted more than life itself, Inuyasha's love? If she wasn't willing to fight for Inuyasha, why would he want her over Kikyo? Inuyasha had never respected cowardice in any other part of life, why would he in this one. Because that was what she was being, a coward, by not fighting to show Inuyasha how much better for him she was over that un-dead walking clay pot.

With those thoughts in mind, Kagome had spent the rest of the night thinking of how she could make Inuyasha see how much better for him she was when she returned to the Feudal Era. First things first, Kagome decided, she needed to get him to see her as Kagome instead of Kikyo, and with that in mind she came up with a plan. Kagome was rather happy now that she had told Inuyasha not to bother her for a week, because it might take some time for her to get everything ready for when Inuyasha next saw her.

Kagome knew what she wanted to do, but she would need some allies to do it, because, A) she had never done anything like this before and B) she didn't have the necessary funds to do it. The first part was settled much easier than Kagome had thought it would be. Kagome had gone straight to her mother as soon as she decided on what course of action to take and explained what she wanted to do, ready to beg if she needed to for her mother's assistance in this. Kagome was rather shocked at how quickly her mother had agreed to help her financially with her plan, but her mother had explained that she hated seeing Kagome come home in tears all the time, and if this was what it took for Inuyasha to finally start to see her as her own person, one way or the other, then she was all for it.

_One way or the other._ The words echoed in Kagome's head ominously as she made her way to school. It wasn't until her mother had said that that Kagome had even realised that her plan could very well go the opposite way then she wanted, and actually drive Inuyasha away from her. She wasn't sure if she could stand it if that happened, if she lost even his friendship. Even being with him while he still wanted Kikyo seemed better than not being with him at all. Still, Kagome was determined to go through with her plan. If he rejected her after all of this was over, at least then she would know that he would never want her, that he would always love Kikyo, and maybe she could finally make herself move on. Maybe.

Kagome shook her head firmly to get rid of that idea as she walked into the school grounds. If that happened she would deal with it then. Right now she had to worry about the plan itself, not it possible outcomes, if she ever hoped to get it off the ground. And hello, right on cue there was just the people she needed to do just that running towards her right now.

"Kagome!" Her three school friends called out happily having spotted her from across the courtyard and hurrying over.

"Hi guys." Kagome said with a smile, for once purely happy to see her over-the-top hyperactive friends. As much as she loved them, they did get a little tiring at times with their habit of sticking their noses into her life, but right now that was just what she wanted them to do.

"How are you doing Kagome, are you well enough to be back in school?" Eri asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah, are you over your bout of smallpox yet?" Ayumi asked.

"Ha? Oh yeah I'm fine." Kagome said with a laugh. _'Smallpox? Honestly Grandpa.'_ Kagome thought dryly.

"Well, that's good." Yuki said happily. "We never get to see you these days, Kagome, with as sick as you are. Hey, if you're feeling batter, you want to do something after school? I hear there's a new movie out that… well actually I hear it suck, but hey it's something to do right?"

"Actually you guys, there is something I wanted to do this week that I could really use some help with if you don't mind." Kagome said, suddenly feeling strangely shy about making such a request.

"Help with what Kagome?" Eri asked, looking a little suspicious as if she was worried Kagome was going to rope them into helping her clean the shrine like she had done when they were twelve. Eri was never going to let that go, Kagome thought.

Kagome shuttered for a few moments before she took a deep breath and gathered up the courage to ask her friends he request. "I need you to help give me a makeover."

**Author's Note**

I honestly don't think this is going to be one of my better stories, but I'll let you the readers decide. This is an idea that's been buzzing around in the back of my head for a while now, if Kagome hates being compared to Kikyo all the time, why doesn't she do something to change that?


	2. Chapter 1 Hair

**DISCLAIMER: 'Inuyasha' belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, and not me. I do not own the characters either. In short, the only thing in this story that is mine is the plot. Do we all understand now? Good, on with the story.**

**CHAPTER 1 – HAIR**

Kagome quickly realised that she needn't have worried over her friends deciding not to help her. As soon as the word 'makeover' had left Kagome's mouth, the three had squealed with unbridled excitement, thrilled with the idea. Apparently they had wanted to give Kagome, who hadn't changed her look since she was fourteen, a makeover for quite some time. After all, she was nearly eighteen now, much to old to hang on to that sweet little girl look forever they said. Kagome had to admit, they were probably right. If she hadn't been so busy with everything going on in the feudal era the last two and a half years she likely would have done something with her looks long before now, even if it wasn't anything as drastic as she was hoping for. Her friends' excitement had only grown when she told them her mother had given her free reign with her credit card for the venture, providing she didn't go _too_ crazy. This was a dream come true for the girls who couldn't wait to get started.

The only real problem Kagome had was when Ayumi had asked what her 'boyfriend' thought of Kagome getting a makeover. Kagome had almost panicked then, unwilling to tell her friends that the main reason she wanted to do this was that Inuyasha, who was in fact not her boyfriend, still seemed to see her as a copy of his ex and she wanted to get rid of that image in his mind. After forcing her expression into one of indifference she had simply said he didn't know she was planning on getting one, and he could just like it or hate it when she saw him next week. Fortunately they hadn't asked more after that.

This was how at lunchtime, Kagome ended up sitting outside with her three modern friends, surrounded by a whole mountain of magazines the three had pulled out from somewhere, pointing out various hairstyles to each other. Her friends had asked her at the beginning what kind of look Kagome was looking for, but Kagome had just shrugged and said _'Something different'_, which didn't really leave them much to go on.

Kagome was actually having fun looking at the various hairstyles with her friends, considering how she would look with this or that. It was the kind of thing normal girls would do which she had missed out on these last few years. Not that she regretted spending her time with Inuyasha in the Feudal Era, far from it as she loved her life there, but it was still nice to pretend to be normal for a little while. Some of the hairstyles Kagome rejected right off the bat for various reasons. She refused to look at long and straight hairstyles, as she feared that would make her look even more like Kikyo. She also bulked at the punk-like hairdos Eri keep pointing out, with pinks and blues and other such colours. If she turned up in the Feudal Era looking like that, she'd be running from villagers screaming 'Youkai!' and wielding pitchforks every time she went to a new place. Others, Kagome considered, but so far none of them really jumped out at her and screamed 'This one!'.

"I found it!" Yuki cried out suddenly. "It's prefect, don't you agree, Kagome?" She asked, as she shoved the picture she had found under Kagome's nose.

"Aw, that's pretty Kagome!" Ayumi squealed as she and Eri looked Kagome's shoulder at the picture Yuki had found. "I think that'll look great on you."

"I don't know, Yuki, are you sure that's wild enough?" Eri asked. "After all, you said you wanted something totally different, Kagome. I still think that cool pink and blue spiked look I showed you before would be awesome on you."

"Just because your mother threatened to disown you if you dyed your hair like that again is no reason to push such a look off on Kagome, Eri." Yuki said firmly before turning back to Kagome. "Well, Kagome what do you think? It's your hair it's your choice."

Kagome took a long moment to study the picture in her hand. It wasn't a look she had ever pictured herself with, but she had to admit she liked it a lot. It was sweet yet somewhat sophisticated. It was different, and would differently turn heads in the Feudal Era, but not so much that people would be looking for their pitchforks at first sight of her. And most importantly, it was _nothing_ like Kikyo's.

Kagome grinned. "It's prefect."

!.!.!.!

Five hours later, Kagome sat staring at her reflection in the mirror at the salon. She barely recognised herself. Kagome's hair had never seen such a radical change before, she'd never even attempted to dye it before, and now it had been coloured, cut, styled and changed in everyway imaginable.

"So, what do you think?" Hide, the hairdresser who had pulled off the transformation asked as Kagome continued to stare at her reflection. Hide was a friend of Ayumi's eldest sister, and had been working as a hairdressers for the last ten years now owning her own small salon. Ayumi had called in a couple of favours and had managed to get Kagome an appointment that same day. Fortunately, one of Hide's previous appointments had called and cancelled that morning, allowing Kagome to squeeze in.

Kagome grinned. "I love it! It's just so… Wow!"

Hide laughed. "I'm glad you like it, because I have to say it would be pretty hard to go back to way your hair was after all that. Quite a transformation you've git there, but it does seem to suit you."

Kagome grinned. Her hair was certainly different, but like Hide said it did suit her surprising well. Her long black hair had been cut into mid-length layers, just barely reaching her shoulders where it had previously been half way down her back. Her hair's naturally waving texture meant that it flared slightly at the ends, but that just added to the appeal in Kagome's mind, as straight hair had always been Kikyo's trademark anyway. Her bangs fell neatly over her forehead to her eyebrows, which just helped draw attention to her naturally wide brown eyes. The greatest change was the colour. Her once ebony hair had been dyed a dark red, with a couple of lighter highlights. The colour was probably what Kagome loved most about her hair. It was so unique, different from anything she had seen in the Feudal Era. Ayame the wolf demon's red hair had been red, but it was a bright, really bright, red that stood out like a beacon. Nothing like the colour of Kagome's new do. For that matter, Kagome didn't think she'd seen anyone else around her school or neighbourhood in this time who had hair that colour either. But it suited Kagome well she thought, and she could easily see herself making that colour her own.

Kagome grinned, and with one last look in the mirror got up to go pay Hide for her wonderful work. She grinned even more as her friends got a good look at her and started exclaiming over her new hair. The first stage of her plan had gone wonderfully. Her hair was done, and it was prefect in Kagome's mind. Now on to the rest of the makeover.

**Author's Notes**

A couple of things I would like to point out here. Being boring enough that I have never gotten my hair professionally coloured, I have no idea how long a makeover like Kagome's would take, so that's why I haven't gotten much about her trip to the hair dressers down here. Also, if you would like to see a picture of what Kagome's new hairstyle looks like, you can find it here; /image/2005-mid-length-red-qhs438.html


End file.
